Touch's Departure
by FightingKirbys
Summary: Touch of the X-Tremes
1. Prologue

Prologue:  
  
Touch is a mutant with a strange history. Touch has the ability to shift his mind around between multiple people. This isn't to be confused with telepathy or telekinesis, or any other psychic power that has been recorded before. Touch's mental presence actually enters the mind of the person he chooses. He can allow himself to enter slightly, allowing for basic mind reading, partially, to control a person's body much like a puppet, mostly, to control the body while inside of it, or completely, by actually shifting his entire mind out of his body and possessing that of his target, thereby becoming one with the being. His possession of this power also allows him to alter people's minds, from erasing their memories, to creating illusions, to placing them within a coma. However, if Touch should be in a person's mind when the subject dies, Touch will be affected harshly, depending on how much he has entered the person's body, even resulting in death.  
  
Touch's memory goes back as far as his first encounter with the X-Tremes. He was discovered by the X-Tremes while being attacked by a gang in the streets of New York City. He appeared merely as an older man, as is the original body of the one we know as Touch, and was assaulted without warning, leading to his inability to defend himself. While the X-Tremes were able to disperse the gang, Touch had been mortally wounded and with his last ounce of strength, leapt completely into the body of one of his assailants. The process was so traumatic that both he and the body he over took lost their memories. The essence of Touch was the last thing holding the old man together, and his body turned to dust as Touch left him. He is now inside a body that is just as lost as his mind, and searches to find himself. The X-Tremes offered to take him into stay in Xavier's mansion in an effort to help him find is past while assisting them in any missions that they may need his assistance in. After one adventure with the X- Tremes, Touch had proved himself as an asset to the team, though is acceptance is another question.  
  
To find out more about the X-Tremes, visit DragonBreath (237893). It will provide information about certain characters located within the beginning of this story, such as Rebecca, Pip, Osiris, and Dinah. The following chapters, however, are the first solo adventure of Touch. 


	2. The Beginning

I don't own the X-men. Surprise, surprise.  
  
---------------  
  
It was 5:00 in the morning. The mansion was dead silent. Touch got out of his bed without a sound and searched through the darkness. He had worn his black pants to bed, but he had to search a bit before finding where he had left his shirt. His black boots were right next to the bed, and put on trench coat as he left the room. Fumbling in his pocket, he found the disk that Pip had made for him. He ran through the halls without making a noise, and reached the danger room without a problem.  
  
Pip had made it as easy as possible. All he needed to do was put the disk in, and the program would run as soon as it sensed Touch enter the arena. Following his instructions to the T, everything ran perfectly. He entered the danger room and the program began.  
  
A few walls came out of the ground all around the room. Several bars dropped from the ceiling, and a number of other obstacles entered the arena. Eight opponents appeared from an elevator rising from the middle of the room. Touch's training, level one.  
  
Two of the drones took off towards Touch immediately. The first attempted to slide tackle Touch as the second jumped in the air at him. Touch leaped off of the first drone's head, and roundhouse kicked the second into pieces. He hadn't even broken a sweat.  
  
Four of the drones approached him this time, all carrying steel batons. The formed a circle around him and paced their way around his body. One directly in front of Touch dove at him, but he rolled onto his back and threw the machine over his shoulder, dismantling the one behind him at the same time. Picking up one of the fallen robot's baton, he proceeded to take on the other two, blocking a series of blows and finally decapitating both of them in a single powerful blow. He dropped the baton to his feet, wiping the sweat off of is forehead. His body was capable once again, but it had been so long.  
  
The final two robots stepped forward at the same time, one purple and one blue. The rest had been approximately human sized and their strengths were placed in the same dimensions. These two were seven feet apiece and outweighed Touch ten to one. Their strength was placed at about three times that of his. Knowing this, Touch stepped forward and stared directly into the robots. He mouthed the words "bring it on".  
  
Blue took little hesitation in approaching Touch. He powered his enormous body towards the human, hurtling towards him like a train off of his track. Touch flawlessly jumped off one of the nearby walls and grabbed onto a bar hanging above him. As the robot recovered from slamming into the wall Touch had ricochet off of, his original target swung from his bar and sensed his programming shut down as the foot slammed into his head.  
  
Touch dismounted from the bar above and looked at Purple. Seven down, one to go.  
  
Purple slowly approached. His computer had been processing the way that Touch fought this entire time, and knew which attacks would lead to his death now. Touch swung his foot to connect with Purple, but his opponent caught his foot within his powerful claws and threw his body across the room, slamming him against a wall. 70 feet away.  
  
Touch swayed as he stood up. His confidence had nearly destroyed him. By the time his sight became clear again, Purple was already on top of him. Those claws curled around his neck, slowly constricting as Touch's sight faded once more. With his last ounce of strength, he began to move his mind out of this body. An explosion rattled him back into consciousness, finding himself lying on the ground, gasping for breath as his mind snapped back into the body.  
  
By his feet, Purple lay on the ground. Ten feet away, a purple robotic head lay, still burning. The walls slid back into the ground, as did the bars into the ceiling. The floor took in the pieces of rubbish that Touch had turned seven of the robots into. As he pulled himself off of the ground, he looked up to see Dinah standing there in pajama pants and t- shirt. She didn't look happy.  
  
"What's your problem?!" she yelled. "You could have died! Pip wakes me up to tell me he's worried about you, and this is what you are doing? What were you thinking?"  
  
Touch began to regain his composure, but lost his balance and nearly fell to the ground before Dinah caught him. "Come on. let's go," she whispered. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked back to her room with her. Rebecca was sitting on Dinah's bed, curled into a ball. "I woke up and you weren't here." She looked at Touch. "Is he okay?" She stood up and tried to guide him towards a chair, but Touch just snapped his arm away. He had bumps, bruises, maybe even a cracked rib, but it was his pride that hurt the most. Rebecca backed away and sat down on her bed, a look of hurt combined with fear spreading over her face.  
  
"She was just trying to help." Dinah began. "We all are. But we can't if you keep hiding from us! What was that about?" Touch didn't say anything. He wanted to be alone, but at the same time, he wanted them to be here. He turned to Rebecca.  
  
"I'm. sorry." Touch turned his back to them. Had he been facing them, he would have seen the look of surprise on their faces. Touch hadn't been one for words, and those he had spoken lacked any sort of compassion. Dinah put her hand on his shoulder and guided him towards a chair to sit down. She placed herself next to Rebecca on her bed and they both looked towards him. "How do you feel?" they asked at the same time.  
  
Despite his words not 30 seconds ago, he reverted back to his silent ways. this time, however, the scowl on his face was replaced with a look they couldn't put their fingers on. "I feel hungry." A smile crept across his face.  
  
Dinah looked delighted. "Finally! A good idea!" She jumped up, threw on a sweater and tossed another to Rebecca who quickly followed suit. As she reached for the door handle, it swung open before her. Jack stood in the doorway. He didn't wait for an invitation before walking up to Touch.  
  
"I don't think you're completely sure of the rules, are you?" he started, not letting anyone interject for a second. "Just because you are new, doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want." Rebecca quickly stood up to tell Jack what had happened, but he interrupted anything she started to say. "You don't belong here. don't you get that? I don't want you around. no one does." Dinah tossed Jack against the wall.  
  
"Shut up Jack! This isn't what we are about. We are supposed to be helping our kind, all of them. That's what you aren't getting!"  
  
"He's right," Touch said. "He's right. I don't belong anywhere." Touch took off out of the room. By the time Dinah reached the door, he was out of sight, with the sound of boots heading towards the front door. 


	3. The Friend

X-Men aren't mine. duh  
  
--------------------  
  
Touch stepped outside the mansion and quietly placed a cigarette between his lips. He had never liked smoking, but the addiction that was burned into this body caused him to feel the urge in times of high stress. This was one of them.  
  
"Touch, wait!" Dinah called from behind him. He knew that talking to her would make him feel better, but at the same time, had no desire to drag her into such conflicts as he had been through. Whipping his trench coat behind him, Touch moved with silently around the corner, edging his way up the side of the building and resting on the roof. His fighting instincts drew himself towards these stealthy methods of lurking about, but this was one of the few times he'd used them to avoid a friend. one of the many things he'd learned is that friends are a rare commodity. still.  
  
"Touch, please."  
  
Her voice echoed in his mind. He withdrew from his perch and gently landed himself on the ground behind her without a sound.  
  
"What?" Touch said coldly, though only because it was in his nature to do so. She was startled, but a look of calm swept away her frightened expression as her eyes locked onto his familiar features. It had only been a few weeks since they'd met, and yet. she pulled her attention back to him.  
  
"Please don't run off. Jack didn't mean anything by what he said. It's only tha-"  
  
"I've heard enough of excuses for his actions." Touch stated. "There is no reasoning the hatred for how he treats me. Talking to you infuriates him simply because I was in the same room where his love interest rests. Is it any fault of mine that she is your roommate?" Dinah sighed. the same sigh she did quite often in conversation with Touch. Anytime she could get more than five words out of him, this is how they had to come out. He was such a logical person that arguing with him was nearly impossible. She hated that frozen look though, and reaching up, let her fingertips press against his cheek. Her fingers were like fire, softening his stone gaze and melting his icy demeanor.  
  
It was his turn to sigh. She took his arm and led him away from the entrance, walking him towards a pond located towards the edge of the compound. Sitting on the grass, she had to tug on his arm for him to get the hint.  
  
"You shouldn't be here," Touch commented, thinking back to the previous argument.  
  
"I chose to come here."  
  
"It doesn't mean you should have."  
  
"I did it because I wanted to," she hastily stated, catching both of them off guard. "What I mean is," Dinah backed her train of thought up, "Rebecca doesn't mind. She doesn't think we should choose sides."  
  
"But there are sides," Touch said, looking down at the pond.  
  
"Will you stop arguing and listen to me!" Dinah commanded, almost yelling but only doing so to get his attention. "I'm going to sit here with you, and I'm going to tell you that this anger that Jack has will pass. I'm going to tell you that I came out here not because I wanted some fresh air, but to help you. And I'm going to convince you that, and nothing else." Touch was shocked. Not just by her voice, but by her words. She quickly saw the impact of what she had said, and lay her palm against his hand. They stayed like that for a long time. just allowing the anger and the hatred to slip away from them.  
  
A twig snapped behind them. Touch rolled onto his feet and was half way at his target before he caught himself. "Pip - you should know better than that."  
  
"I figured if I might be sneaking up on the master himself, I might just be working my way up the ladder," Pip joked. His face before slightly more serious as he leaned in towards Touch, whispering, "Don't let him get to ya. different is just different."  
  
"I'm tired of being the different one," Touch said with a harshness that was uncalled for. He strode across the field, silently working his way back into the building.  
  
Pip shook his head. "It's not an easy shell to crack there," Dinah commented, seeing how disappointed he was in his own efforts to help the situation. This caused Pip to smirk.  
  
"Some of us are havin' an easier time than others though," he said with a wink. She smiled, but before she could say a word, he said, "My lips are sealed." She smiled even more. Pip was good like that.  
  
center* * */center  
  
Touch entered the mansion, and no sooner then he had taken a few steps, Jack was there. Though startled, Touch showed no sense of fear or shock of any kind.  
  
"I'm tired of this," Jack started. "No one asked you to be around, and you aren't welcome here as is. this is a refuge for mutants or a home for X- Men. you've worn out your refuge, now go." Touch didn't blink for a second. His intense brown eyes pierced into Osiris, letting his mind release for a moment, than connect back into himself. How a mishap with roommates had reached this point, he'd never know. Though there was clearly no turning back.  
  
"Danger Room," Touch said with no emotion, no feeling. He wanted this rivalry to continue even less than Jack did. It was time to end it. 


	4. The Fight

X-men aren't mine, you know the deal..  
  
--------------------------  
  
Pip looked down from high above and let out a big sigh. He had never wanted the situation to reach this point, but once it had gotten there, he was well aware that there was little to stop them. He had called the professor's office, and informed him of what was happening. Xavier said that he would be down to supervise in secret, but to let the event go on. Just make sure it was safe. Pip made sure to follow the professor's orders as closely as possible. This wasn't just making sure a round in the danger room went off without a hitch. this may have to do with his friends' lives if this fight gets out of hand.  
  
Touch was the first one to step into the room. He had no desire to put on his uniform, so he did not have the luxury of changing time to think of his strategy. His black clothing was followed by the shadow that was his leather trench coat. Though it may seem like awkward fighting attire, Touch's movements were as, if not more, fluid than many other fighters that the danger room had within it's walls before. He leaned himself against a wall and closed his eyes, giving himself a few moments of meditation to prepare for battle.  
  
Jack entered approximately five minutes later in full attire. His sword glistened off of the lights above, flicking Touch out of his transient state. Their eyes locked at that moment, and the intensity they saw in each other's eyes burned with a fire fueled by their own anger at each other. Touch stayed against the wall while Jack looked up towards Pip.  
  
"We don't want anyone to have more advantages than the other, so we will make this a clean, simple scenario. Powers may only be used in contact with the opposing challenger. The arena will be set as a warehouse, to give some people a place to hide," Jack began, shooting a look over at Touch specifically at the last comment. "No time limit. Match ends when one competitor gives up. Any questions?" Pip punched in the computer codes grudgingly. Touch simply nodded.  
  
"Then it is settled," Jack continued, as if he were a ringmaster. The metallic room around them grew significantly darker, with only a few lights overhead illuminating the field. Jack felt the thrill of the fight flowing through his body. Training in this room was a task he typically enjoyed. He shifted his mindset out of it's teenage holdings and let his persona Osiris take over. Towers of boxes materialized all around them, and Pip counted down.  
  
"Three. two. one. begin." The metallic sound of the outside world turned off around them, and the match started.  
  
Touch leapt from his relaxed position, and tackled Osiris before he knew what hit him. Closing his eyes, he allowed a very small part of his mind to enter Osiris's, almost completely undetectable to anyone but the greatest psionic masters. Osiris wasn't one of them.  
  
Quickly, Osiris rolled onto his feet and tossed Touch off of his body. He unsheathed his sword and held it at eye level, focusing every ounce of rage in his body towards his opponent. Premeditating his actions, Touch leapt to the right, diving behind a stack of boxes and completely throwing off his original attack. His attack stance leveled once again, Osiris began to stalk his way through the landscape. Hearing a rattle just behind him, he teleported back twenty feet, just as Touch leapt from the shadows. The faced each other, locking eyes, and ran at each other.  
  
Osiris swung his sword towards Touch with lightening speed, but Touch could read every movement that his opponent was going to make. The accurate, fierce attacks were dodged as if they were coming at Touch in slow motion. Realizing what was happen, Osiris closed his eyes and swung the sword blindly towards Touch's abdomen. Not knowing where his intended target was made it so Touch couldn't predict the movement of the sword and he dove out of the way, feeling the blade slide cleanly through the top of his forearm.  
  
The pain seared through Touch's entire body. A rage that had been dormant in him for years grew and grew until it consumed his very being. Osiris opened his eyes to see what appeared to him to be a walking shadow. Touch's body leapt in the air and came down on Osiris in one giant flying tackle. He reached his fist up in fury and was about to bring it down on Osiris's skull when a spark of red caught his eye. He looked into the control tower and saw Dinah, pounding against the walls. The sound couldn't pass through, but she held red sticks in her hands like flares, doing anything to get his attention.  
  
Breathing heavily, Touch slowly lifted his body off of Osiris. Their eyes locked together. and he saw fear. It was an emotion he did not know to exist in his enemies. His mind began to pound with thoughts of his past life. Remnants of memories that he could not piece together, but could feel the pain of their existence..  
  
iHe was just a boy/i  
  
Touch took in the environment. Jack was lying on the ground, with his sword a few feet away. He could only stare at Touch and not move.  
  
iLike you used to be/i  
  
Pip had deactivated the arena long before the fighting had ended, but neither Touch nor Jack had noticed.  
  
iLike you've come again/i  
  
The thoughts took him over, ruling his body, filling every crevice of his existence. He dropped to the ground in pain, but quickly gathered himself and ran out of the danger room. He worked his way through the hallways and corridors, finding his way to the back door and bursting through it.  
  
center* * */center  
  
Dinah found herself outside, searching through the forest. The hallway that Touch had run down left a long line of blood to follow, but it had greatly diminished as they entered the yard, and disappeared as it entered the forest. All had been out to help search for him, even Jack, but to no avail. It was just Dinah and Liz now, and Liz was only there because of the great amount of help she could offer with her tracking.  
  
"Come on Dinah, let's go inside." Liz had said. "We can't stay out here anymore. The trail is cold. . . we can try again tomorrow, but. . ." There was nothing Liz could say, so she just wrapped her arm around Dinah.  
  
Dinah felt a few tears fall down the side of her face, and without a word, followed Liz back in. They were all in the den, talking quietly about what had happened, trying to fill each other in with little parts of the story that they knew. As Liz and Dinah entered the room, a blanket of stillness fell over them  
  
"I'm sorry," Jack said, breaking the silence. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her apologetically. The hug made her feel better though. for a reason she couldn't put her finger on, she felt like he had returned to her. She sat down in silence with the rest of them. and they all just watched the fire. 


	5. The Offer

The you-know-whos don't belong to you know who (The X-men don't belong to me).  
  
---------  
  
The city seemed dead. There were thousands of people surrounding him, but the faces were a flood of emptiness to him. Not a familiar face in the entire city. It almost brought him comfort.  
  
It'd been three days since Touch had left the mansion. His heart was beginning to feel a little more at peace in the relaxing environment. The city might have been noisy, boisterous, and even dangerous, but it definitely wasn't easy to find someone. He needed to be alone.  
  
He walked down the street towards a new diner. He'd had plenty to eat with a simple trick of letting the owner's believe his meal should be on the house - the key was just avoiding them after they realized what they've done. And sleep wasn't a big deal. it hadn't been in a long time for Touch.  
  
He ordered lunch, ate it quietly, and left the diner in silence. There were few issues he faced during the past few days. He spent the many hours he had to himself simply pacing the city streets, contemplating his existence, and when that became too frustrating, observing those around him. Every so often he'd feel a familiar presence around him. the feeling that Professor Xavier was looking for him. but he was able to shift his mind undercover and avoid the constant searching of Cerebro. The hiding, the seclusion. it was familiar to exist in such a way. Almost comfortable.  
  
He worked his way back to an alley way had a ladder towards the end, allowing for easy access to the roofs on either side. He climbed his way up the eight stories and rested on the edge of the wall. Rolling up the sleeve of his coat, he checked out his arm.  
  
The cut had stopped bleeding long ago, and the healing was well on its way. His workings of the mind allowed Touch to partially control the speed in which his body recuperated. It would still require at least a week before the wound disappeared. though there would be about a five-inch scar. The thought of his body's disfigurement reminded him of the extent of his powers. He closed his eyes and let his mind move out of his body and slowly pass through that of those below. he could read a mind if he chose, even control it and alter it. and if he pressed himself hard enough, he could almost feel himself encompass it.  
  
He withdrew back into his own body. As he opened his eyes, a figure came into view, but it was too late. Black.  
  
center* * */center  
  
"Wake up child."  
  
Touch was awakened slowly by a beautiful woman, gently touching the side of his face, speaking in soft tones. Though he was in a definitely unfamiliar place, and he had never seen this person before, he was not startled. in fact, he was the most relaxed he'd ever been.  
  
The woman helped him sit up as his vision cleared, and the room he was in came into focus. He was in some kind of billiard room. There was a pool table not far away from him, along with various mounted animals around the walls. He looked down where he was sitting and saw (what he imagined to be) a very expensive leather coach. That's when he once again became aware of the woman sitting next to him. She was dressed in a long, flowing white dress that was almost completely contradictory to his image. He was fascinated with her. he had long been able to see past beauty - there was something else that captured his attention. He then noticed that she was still touching his hand.  
  
"My name is Emma," she offered kindly, attempting to gain his confidence. "Try as I might, I can't determine yours."  
  
"Touch," he replied. he said it in a normal tone, but suspicion was there.  
  
i'I can't determine yours'/i  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
"You are in the confines of my office, located in the suburbs of New York City."  
  
"Before you ask what will undoubtedly be your next question, allow me to introduce myself." A man came out of the shadows, dressed in a strangely Victorian-like manor, with shoulder-length brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. It wasn't until now that Touch had realized how modern he appeared in comparison to everything. "My name is Sebastian Shaw, but Shaw will suffice for the moment. You've already met Ms. Frost I presume, though I have my doubts that she has had the time to introduce the situation to you." He motioned towards the table, poured three glasses of wine, and sat at the table with them.  
  
"Ms. Frost and I are entrepreneurs, you see," Shaw began, sipping slightly at his wine. "The investments we've made have done us both extremely well, and allowed us to become philanthropists of sorts. We'd like to use one of these titles to help out the other one." Shaw made a short motion to Emma, who began her own presentation.  
  
"We've been studying you for some time now, and couldn't help but notice your adeptness in handling your gift," she said, tapping the edge of the glass with her gloved fingers. "We're looking for a person to act an informant for us. Your job will be to enter the minds of people and extract an amount of information from a few sources. We can assure you that you will be more than compensated for your efforts."  
  
Touch looked silently at the both of them. He sensed that their efforts weren't entirely legal, though that wasn't much of a con for him. laws were often frivolous in his mind. His main concern was exactly who his efforts would be affecting.  
  
"I need time," Touch said shortly.  
  
"All that you need," Emma said, standing up along with Shaw. "We'll be back tomorrow to see where you stand on the situation. You may stay in the room through that door if you'd like to sleep."  
  
Touch paused for a moment. As she stared at him, he felt what was like a pass by Cerebro, only stronger. As if a telepath was trying to enter his mind from a short distance. He fought away the entrance with a slight effort, than nodded towards Emma.  
  
He was alone. He lay down on the couch, and closed his eyes, though he did not let himself lose consciousness of his body this time. He did not even think to ask why they had kidnapped him to bring him here, or why they knew as much as they did. Those would be questions for tomorrow, he decided. He had already made his decision. he would assist these two strange individuals. The luxury they offered was nice. he just wanted the night to himself. 


	6. The Mission

Are the X-men mine? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
--------------  
  
Touch was suited up and ready to go. The coat, pants, and shirt remained; they were just modified. Several useful tools had been added to help sneaking into the building, along with a kind of cloaking device that allowed Touch to hide his body for approximately 24 hours as he traveled from mind to mind on his journey.  
  
Emma stepped into the room with several files underneath her arm. She laid them down in front of Touch and pulled out some papers.  
  
"Here is the outline for the building," she began. The elegance of her character remained, though her outfit was slimmed into a pair of white jeans and a white sweater. She remained gentle as she talked, but she showed herself to be quite a professional person as well, with clear knowledge of what she was doing. "Your entrance point will be here, and the following hallways will need to be bypassed to get into the office of your target, Richard Stark. He will meet up with is boss at approximately twenty-two hundred hours. You will search the bosses mind for a key code. It is eight digits long and will access his computer main frame - it will not be difficult to detect. Do you understand?"  
  
Touch nodded. "Will I have any assistance?"  
  
Emma sighed. "Unfortunately, the security systems are incredibly advanced, and even our most sophisticated technology won't get just much past the front door before being eliminated. I will deliver you to the restaurant where Stark has dinner every night, where you can then enter his mind. Shaw will retrieve you at twenty-three hours and return you here."  
  
"Where will I meet him?"  
  
"Don't worry - he'll find his way to you."  
  
Touch stood up. "Then let's do this."  
  
* * *  
  
He had already entered Stark's mind upon his first look at him. He was in just enough where he could see through the man's eyes, but lacked control over his movement. Hidden off in an alley, he activated the cloaking device and closed his eyes, waiting for his moment to take on his prey. The moment came.  
  
As Stark came around the corner, Touch reached farther into him. slowly convinced his mind that it needed to go down this alley way. The body did not disagree, and continued walking down the alley. He leaped and grasped onto the body, letting his consciousness envelope the unexpected man. He was now in control.  
  
Dusting himself off, he continued on Stark's original path. Entering the building, he flawlessly removed the key card form the wallet, slid it in, waved hello to the guard. He worked his way into the office and sat down, waiting for the meeting to come up.  
  
"Twenty minutes," Touch mumbled to himself. He closed Stark's eyes and looked around the man's mind. He learned much about the man. Wife, three kids, dog named King. Worked at the company going on fifteen years in May. Had quite the life set up for himself. He also searched for any excess knowledge that Stark might have had. There was none - he was just a pawn. He was also quite keen on being early, so Touch decided to take off with ten minutes left to go.  
  
His office was reached easily enough, and the boss allowed him to enter. An uneasiness entered the body of his host.  
  
iHe's never met this man before/i  
  
The stranger stood up. "Hello Mr. Stark, I've heard so many good things about you."  
  
Touch froze. "Thank you sir, but the pleasure is mine," he managed to add, quickly searching this man's mind for thoughts. He was simply a new CEO. damn it, he had let the nervousness of the body take him for a moment.  
  
He continued the banter for a few more minutes, calmly probing the man's mind and finding the code with a large amount of ease. He continued the conversation even past finding the code, using his ability to tap into the interests of the CEO to build up their friendship and maybe allow Stark to move up in the company. Touch smiled to himself. even in evil, he'd allow himself to do good. Keep his nature in check.  
  
After the meeting, Touch left the building just as discreetly has he had entered. He went down the alley to retrieve his body, and found a long black limousine with Shaw standing out in front.  
  
Touch walked up to him. "I found the code."  
  
"Good. Get in your body."  
  
"Don't you want to-"  
  
"Get in your body now."  
  
Touch had already mostly entered his original form, and deactivated the cloaking device at Shaw's command. He wasn't comfortable taking orders from someone who he barely knew, but there was no sense in causing conflict when there was no reason to. The transfer back to his own body caused him a great amount of fatigue, so he leaned against a wall and attempted to catch his breath.  
  
Shaw reached back and punched Stark clear in the chest. His eyes bulged as his rib cage cracked. You could see his heart stopping. He died instantly.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT?!" Touch erupted with rage. "He had a wife! He had kids! He had a life!" He stepped forward and stumbled, but quickly caught himself and tried again. Touch was filled with blood lust. Every ounce of strength in his body wanted to launch his body towards Shaw.  
  
"I refuse to let any variables stand in the way of my success," Shaw said calmly. "If you know what's good for you, you won't let yourself become one of those variables." Touch stepped back for a moment and took in the situation. He had let this death happen. he had dragged an innocent into a war he was clearly not a part of. He had done.  
  
"The code. Now."  
  
His eyes grew hazy. He could not let this death go without being avenged. The blood was on his hands. It would be the blood of the one deserving it soon enough.  
  
He clicked on the cloaking device and dragged himself away, disappearing from sight and with the voice of Shaw yelling from far off.  
  
"This is my town! You cannot run from me Touch. You cannot run!" 


	7. The Reunion

I'm a compulsive liar. The X-men belong to me  
  
----------  
  
"This is completely unacceptable," Emma yelled. "How DARE you try to pull a stunt like that while I'm not around."  
  
"For one, he needed to prove his loyalty," Shaw began, calm despite the sheer anger emanating from his partner. "Two, there should not have been a loss of control in the first place. I was under the impression that you had him under your will."  
  
Emma stepped back for a moment and turned her face away. "You knew the extent of his powers. I could not achieve full-"  
  
"Full what? Control? You were sitting in the limousine twenty feet away from him. If anyone should be angry here, it should be me. He is merely a boy, and he was wrapped around your finger to begin with. There is no excuse for your lack of responsibility."  
  
"You don't know what it's like. I'd try to see into him, but it was like hitting a brick wall. Even while I was keeping him unconscious, I could not enter his mind. it was like something I've never seen before."  
  
Shaw sighed. "There is no sense in arguing it now. We underestimated his power and overestimated his loyalty. We won't make that mistake again."  
  
* * *  
  
Touch had run to a part of the city he'd never seen before. He'd jumped onto the top of a bus and rode it cloaked for about an hour, than deactivated it. He was aware that he'd need everything he had if he hoped to survive, let alone attack Shaw.  
  
He got off the bus in one of the less likeable places in the city. The smell of the sewers hit him quite powerfully, but he decided that it was better than death.  
  
Thankful for his body once again, Touch managed to fit in just right among these people. A few of them even seemed to recognize him, though it wasn't as good as positive as he'd liked. The body's memories had been erased much like his own in that last jump that he'd only been told about by those who saved him, but a chill remained when he realized some distantly recognizable faces started following him. He found himself picking up pace, and even darting down an alley, but he soon came to a dead end.  
  
The group had accumulated to twelve people by the time he turned around to handle them. Touch approached them slowly, keeping his hand on his hip incase he needed to pull out one of the many weapons he'd been equipped with before he left.  
  
A single member of the crowd stepped forward with a scowl on his face. He appeared to be the same age as Touch's body, approximately seventeen, and held many of the same dark features. The figure extended his hand out and thrust it towards Touch's abdomen.  
  
Touch fell back and wrapped his leg around the arm of his opposition, and pinned the man on the ground.  
  
"Casey, what the hell was that about," the man squeaked. "Is that any way to treat your best friend?"  
  
Touch stood up quickly and looked at the faces of the other people in the group. They were just as shocked as the man on the ground appeared to be. He quickly helped the man up from the ground and shook his hand.  
  
"I'm so sorry isearches his mind/i Eric. I barely recognized you!" Touch started, realizing the error of his ways. They must know this body. Casey. He breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
The crowd enveloped him, chattering away as they led him into a nearby apartment building. They asked him hundreds of questions - where he'd been, why he hadn't come back earlier. It had been several months, and they apparently missed him greatly. He talked back, though he mostly let the body take over, barely needing to do any actions. The mind he was in control of filled with old memories, and chattered excitedly with his old friends and family. Dinner was eaten and the conversation went long into the morning, when finally enough people had left where it was just Casey and Eric talking.  
  
"What's wrong Casey," Eric began, waiting for the rest of the people to leave before he began.  
  
"There is this gang after me. called the Hellfire Club." Touch decided to take over the conversation - he saw an opportunity for assistance. "I did a job for them, and found out they were out to cause more trouble than it was worth. They are out searching for me now. and might possibly kill me."  
  
Eric grew quiet. "I sort of figured that's why we hadn't seen you." He looked as if he was thinking. "I can get some of the old gang together and we'll take care of this. You've done enough for us." Touch smiled. He and this consciousness he had invaded had long been roommates. It was as if they were becoming one though.  
  
"We'll start in the morning though. I'll take the couch, go ahead and take the bed."  
  
Touch headed off towards the bedroom.  
  
"We missed you Casey."  
  
Touch looked back. "Missed you too Eric."  
  
* * *  
  
The morning never came for Touch. Neither did the afternoon. He wasn't awakened until approximately six in the evening. As he entered the living room of the apartment, he saw four people, two of which Casey recognized as friends. The other two looked to be in their mid-twenties, and were dressed as most everyone else in the neighborhood: dark shirts, blue jeans, and things of that nature. Touch shook hands with the two he recognized and became acquainted with the ones he hadn't met before. They seemed like fine enough individuals, though they didn't talk much. As Touch became slightly more nervous, Eric entered the room.  
  
"These are some of the best guys that I've run rounds with," Eric began. "We've done banks, warehouses, even some other side jobs. He's even heard of this place you mentioned." Eric gestured towards the taller of the two strangers.  
  
"Is there a plan?" Touch said hesitantly. This was getting taken of rather readily for him.  
  
"Of course. This Shaw character you mentioned is the owner of several industries around the city. He must have a corporate office. We looked it up and he does, and it's right near where you said this 'Hellfire Club' was. We should be able to get into his building and take him rather easily."  
  
Touch was impressed. Casey had worked with these men before, and they were quite capable at breaking into a building. He was surprised at their resolve in wanting to help him so much, and he was quite happy with the results.  
  
"But we must act quickly," Eric continued. "The longer we wait, the more of a chance there will be that he'll find us. We'll go tonight."  
  
The all left the building and hopped on the subway to move back up down. Touch was beginning to get a little disoriented from all this action. Things were moving fast, and his mind was working overtime to absorb everything that was happening. He felt it in his bones that there was something he was missing. he'd find it soon enough. 


	8. The Infiltration

No tengo los hombres de equis  
  
----------------  
  
The six of them stood outside the building across the street. A large red glowing sign read 'Shaw Enterprises, Inc.'  
  
"So, I guess this is the place," one of the larger strangers stated. Clearly, Touch wouldn't have the luxury of dealing with geniuses on this mission. The other men standing with him were chatting up a storm. Their insolence might have been frustrating for one who wanted to handle this situation seriously, but they did manage to make them look casual enough to provide cover. His eyes moved to Eric, who was combing the building with a pair of binoculars.  
  
"Got it." Eric quickly worked his way through a duffel bag and pulled out a strange remote-sized device and some small tools. "I've found the spare power source. If it gets cut, all it will take is a shock to the system to deactivate the alarms completely. Essentially, we'll be able to turn off the alarms without affecting the rest of the building."  
  
Touch couldn't help but feel a smile within his alternate consciousness. Eric must have had a gift for these types of things, for it was seen as quite typical to Casey. This type of situation clicked in quite naturally with his new body. For some reason, this type of espionage work, sneaking around. it was in his instincts to perform well in these situations, and his body responded just as readily.  
  
Eric explained how he would cut off the system in the back of the building. The other four would enter the building looking to cause trouble, and as a distraction ensued, they would break off an alarm sensor. It would deactivate the system by activating it unpowered, thus creating a power surge that would allowed Touch and Eric to sneak their way through the building without tripping the alarms or alerting security.  
  
Touch positioned himself on some steps just near where they were standing in order to get some perspective. He now scoured the building with the binoculars, though he could not find anything outside of the ordinary within the confines of the brick walls. Most of the lights towards the middle of the building were scattered on and off, with the only totally lit up floors located in the lobby on the bottom floor, and the top floor. The windows on the top floor were partially tinted though, only allowing a small amount of light through without creating silhouettes of any figures that might be located there. Eric moved towards the building and worked quickly, and within thirty seconds a small flashing light indicated that he had finished.  
  
The four men walked into the building quite abruptly, and a ruckus promptly ensued. Through his binoculars, Touch managed to make out the shape of the four men talking to the woman behind the desk. Very quickly, however, several security guards joined the woman. The solely visible scene quickly became audible at this point.  
  
Eric tapped his shoulder. "Come on, let's go."  
  
Eric and Touch slipped in through a window at ground level, and seeing as no alarms went off, they continued working their way through the building. Deciding it would be best if they separated in case of capture, Touch handed off his cloaking device to Eric and worked his way along the west side of the building while Eric headed towards the left.  
  
Touch silently slinked his way through the building. He moved from floor to floor, sending his mind to check out rooms and see if Shaw had entered any of them. He was almost caught twice - once by a custodian, who he was able to sedate and hide away in a closet, and another who he had to erase the memory of the encounter, for she'd gotten a good look at his face. Other than those two encounters, he lurked up all the floors of the building, finally reaching the top floor without a sign of Shaw. He entered the elevator going up one floor, the last floor he had to check. He sent his mind as far as he could throughout the top floor. He was here.  
  
As the elevator door opened, Touch instantly recognized the area - it was where he had spent his time in the company of Emma and Shaw. The area he was in was devoid of life. He walked around the room, gaining a sense of the area once again while at the same time awaiting the arrival of Eric. He checked the table where he had been briefed not a few days ago, and it was empty, minus a chessboard with a game partially in progress. Upon closer examination, he saw that the board had almost all the piece, black and white on one side. A single black knight stood on the opposite side of the board. His attention was caught for a moment, even to the point where he picked up the knight and placed it within his coat, but he snapped his attention back on the situation and continued his examination of the area. The room was mostly unchanged. Five minutes went by, then ten. Touch decided that he could not wait any longer without the possibility of interference with security. He stepped back to ram the door when a white coat caught the corner of his eye.  
  
iEmma./i  
  
He had forgotten about her. He'd been so obsessed with taking care of himself, he'd forgot that an innocent might be at stake here. The elevator started coming up and he searched with a quick mind sweep. Four men. Damn it.  
  
There wasn't time anymore. Touch slammed into the door to find it unlocked, flinging open as soon as he made contact with it.  
  
Shaw was sitting at his desk, quite calmly, doing paperwork. "Hello Touch!" he said enthusiastically. "We've been expecting you."  
  
Emma stepped from the shadows. Touch's heart sank.  
  
Eric followed close behind her. Touch's heart fell clear out of his body.  
  
Shaw smiled. "Silly boy. There is no escape from us."  
  
His other four teammates entered from behind him, but he was so dizzied by what had happened, he barely noticed.  
  
Shaw walked around his desk and signaled his four lackeys to hold Touch, though it was barely necessary. Emma proceeded to walk up to Touch and brush her finger tips against his forehead.  
  
"Don't struggle, just let me see," she said soothingly. "I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help you." Touch could barely move his body, and bending his will to that of Emma seemed like it would offer so much relief.  
  
"5. 8. 2. 4." Touch began saying without even realizing it. The warmth coming from Emma made him feel like the pain he should be feeling would never come. "2. 9. 1. 1." Emma smiled and slowly brushed her fingers against Touch's hands.  
  
bCLAMP/b  
  
A cool metallic feeling surrounded Touch's wrist.  
  
"Go to sleep," Emma cooed. "And when you wake up, please don't use your powers. I don't want you to get hurt."  
  
Touch felt arms lift his body in the air, then the scene slowly faded away. First Emma disappeared. then Shaw, typing on his computer. then Eric. simply smiling. 


	9. The Escape

So what if the X-men don't belong to me? Don't judge me!  
  
--------------  
  
Touch slowly opened his eyes, feeling like he'd just woken up after a bad hang over. In his direct line of sight was concrete. He rolled over, and stared at the ceiling. More concrete. He swore to himself.  
  
Sitting up, he saw he was surrounded by even more concrete, and iron bars that were about three inches in diameter, with just about an inch between each one. He stood up and looked around his cell. It looked to be ten feet by ten feet, and not much else besides that. No toilet, no bed, and the door was fairly inaccessible. Touch closed his eyes to see if he could send his mind out for a better look. As he began to leave his body, a large shock ran through his entire body so strong, it knocked him off of his feet. He looked down at his wrist, and his mind began to click as to the events that had just happened. The infiltration of the building, the trap, the loss of the computer code. Eric and Emma betraying him.  
  
The anger began to flow through him again. He needed to get out. Once again, he was on his own. He wouldn't be foolish enough to let his loyalties sway one way or another again. It wasn't a time for these things though. Now it was time for a little fun.  
  
Touch had one thing going for him without access to his powers - a mind that for whatever reason was capable of deciphering and defeating any situation he faced. He looked around and saw his cell, and two guards pacing through the corridor just outside of his cell.  
  
"AHHHH!" Touch screamed just before falling to the ground. He twitched every so often, shrieking in pain. "Oh god, please no!!!" Both guards quickly ran to the door and one placed his key inside the door. That's all Touch needed to execute his plan. He rolled onto his trench coat completely, wrapped his arm around the iron bar next to him, and attempted to use his power, feeling the electricity travel away from his wrist towards the better grounded guard and short circuiting his wrist band. Quickly he left his mind and entered that of the other guard, putting him to sleep and leaving Touch in his own body with a sleeping guard, an electrified guard, and an unlocked door.  
  
"Idiots." he mumbled to himself. Looking around, he saw that the area had been left occupied only by those two guards, so he decided to expand his search immediately. He realized that simply killing Shaw wasn't enough to hurt him. Touch had to hit his company, his money, and the only way he could think of doing that is finding out what that computer code was for. Touch allowed himself to partially enter the mind of one of the guards, so he could use him as a puppet.  
  
Touch had the guard put handcuffs on Touch's wrist without closing them, so it would look as if the guard was escorting him around. He arrived at the first basement level and saw that there were hundreds of computers all around the area, with a few programmers scattered between them. Silently, Touch closed his eyes and entered each one of their minds, trying to piece together exactly what was happening that was so important. One had a background in genetics. another in electromagnetism. still another in cranial analysis. besides a background in computers, their major scientific expertise was completely unrelated. He eventually came across the head of the programming group. This person didn't provide too much information, except basic knowledge of Shaw Enterprises. Pretty much a supplier to the defense department with other small ties in industry.  
  
Seeing as that was all he could pull from these men, he had to assume that the code had something to do with a military weapon or something of that sort that he'd be selling off. Touch directed another portion of his mind to control the head of the group. He was able to quickly access the computer mainframe and delete the coding, along with crashing the system. Touch smiled as an alarm went off and the programmers began rushing around trying to figure out what the problem was. He left the guard to help handle the chaos and sneaked upstairs. He was going to do things right this time.  
  
Much like the night before, he began to go up floor by floor. However, instead of simply sneaking past all of the employees of Shaw Enterprises, Touch entered their minds and set in a temporary block on their optic nerve.  
  
Within five minutes, Shaw Enterprises was filled with 600 temporarily blinded personnel.  
  
* * *  
  
Shaw passed back and forth upstairs. His security monitors were going crazy. His computer system had just crashed, and 75% of his employees in this building had suddenly go blind.  
  
"Touch." he grumbled underneath his breath. He knew how necessary it was to keep Touch under captivity, but it had gotten to a point where he was too much to handle. Emma sat on the couch, looking just as infuriated.  
  
"There is no way to hold him," she stated, glaring at Shaw. "I am well aware of the importance that he serves, but there is no other way to handle the situation. Keeping him around is a lost cause."  
  
"Impossible!" Shaw cried out. "I will not let the money I've put into this endeavor go to waste. Do you understand me? I do not care what it takes, even if it means eliminating him. We will not throw away this opportunity."  
  
Emma sighed audibly. She walked over to her desk and pressed a button on her intercom. "Eric. Take him down."  
  
* * *  
  
Within thirty seconds of receiving his command, Eric was already on Touch's trail, and Touch was well aware of it. For some reason, he was utterly confused. This wasn't the Eric Casey had known. They grew up together, helped each other out. Now he's trying to-  
  
Touch stopped himself. He needed to deal with the problem at hand. He went to take a corner, but was tackled into a wall.  
  
"Don't make this harder than it has to be," Eric growled. Literally, growled. His eyes had taken on a red glow and the tackle was so powerful that the wall had the imprint of a back left in it. Touch responded by tossing him off, but the blow had dislocated his shoulder.  
  
He lined his arm up and popped the shoulder in, nearly letting out a pained shriek but catching himself in time. He looked over to the monster. Eric. who was just staring at him. The only reason he'd been allowed these ten seconds to recuperate. he wanted a challenge.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Touch yelled, trying to delay as much time as possible to formulate some kind of strategy. Eric looked back and smiled.  
  
"Same reason you did," he replied gruffly. "I've got my own things to deal with, my own things that need funding. I'm not exactly the March of Dimes." He entered a fighting position and made a motion for Touch to approach him.  
  
"They'll screw you over too." Touch pulled himself into a similar fighting stance, with much less desire to fight.  
  
"No they won't. I'm just in it for the money." Eric cracked his neck, warming up his shoulders.  
  
"What do you think they are doing here?" Touch made no such attempts to warm up. He didn't stand a chance.  
  
"Doesn't matter. Just need my money." Eric began to walk towards Touch, flicking his coat back and winding up to swing.  
  
"Don't you think they could have hired anyone else if they just needed you for a strong man?" Touch closed his eyes, but felt nothing. When he opened them, Eric wasn't moving. in fact, he wasn't even facing towards his target anymore.  
  
"You're right. They're gonna f*ck me the first chance they get. What do you know?"  
  
"They are doing genetic testing," Touch began to explain. As he spoke the words, he analyzed how Eric was taking them in. "They have experts from every kind of field I could think of, scientists who have studied in." he stopped himself, and looked at Eric. his eyes had faded from the intense red to a normal shade, but the image was imprinted in Touch's mind. "What are you?" 


	10. The Epiphany

Would I be writing on FanFiction if I owned the X-men? Of course not. so we're going to have to go and assume once more that the X-Men aren't mine.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
Eric sighed heavily and turned away from Touch. "I'll answer your question only because I have the same one for you." This comment caused Touch to freeze - Casey's consciousness swore that he knew the figure before him. He maintained his inquiring stare however, wanting an answer first.  
  
Eric began. "I'm a cross between a human and a vampire. I have incredible strength and agility, but I'm immune to garlic, silver, and sunlight. Vampires killed my mother, so I'm searching for her murder. revenge isn't very profitable though, so I do things like this. I always hid what I was from you because I preferred you not knowing. simple as that."  
  
Touch had calculated due to their fight that Eric had been some sort of super human hybrid, but he had no idea it was something he was born with. His thoughts were quickly interrupted however.  
  
"You're turn."  
  
Pacing across the room, Touch told the story of how he had gotten into Casey's body, and skipped over the events of the X-Tremes to dictate how he was located in this current situation. Eric nodded as the story was told, making the connections of how his childhood friend had been acting remarkably more powerful. At the conclusion of the story, they began discussing their next course of action.  
  
"There won't be any problems with security," Eric said. "The security guards are all dealing with the police at the moment. The only things we have to worry about are the personal guards, and Shaw and Emma themselves." Touch agreed, though the tactics weren't on the front of his mind. he was slowly reaching an epiphany over what had happened.  
  
"You are the cross of two different homo sapien derived creatures," Touch spoke randomly. Eric nodded, though couldn't imagine why that had just been said. "I have the mental prowess of blending together two minds." Eric nodded again. "This conversation is pointless."  
  
"No, see, that's it!" Touch exclaimed. "They were using us from the beginning. Your genetic code. if they vampire proteins were replaced with matching mutant proteins, it might. shit." Touch realized what was happening.  
  
"What?" Eric asked impatiently.  
  
"They are making mutants."  
  
--------------------------------  
  
Touch and Eric ran side by side, deftly moving through the stairs that both had become somewhat familiar with in their time scaling the building. Eric had been right about one thing - everything above the third floor had been cleared out, and the only mental presences were located on the top floor. The entire scenario felt all too familiar.  
  
They reached the top floor, and decided not to make the same mistake as last time. Eric burst through the door and swung his arm out, unleashing a wooden dagger through the air and watched it slice through the air, stabbing into the chest of a figure that had been walking through the room blankly. The figure cried out for just a moment before the area around the dagger began to glow and crumble, quickly spreading throughout the entire creature and causing it to become little more then a pile of ash on the ground.  
  
"All right, so the last thing we have to deal with are these guys we worked with before. We were right about them being part of my blood sample and not being too smart," Eric said, reaching over and picking his dagger up off the ground. "We also know that their DNA recombining couldn't have been perfect, because they lost my immunity factor." A crunch came from the corner of the room and without a moment's hesitation, Eric whipped the dagger across the room and found itself located in the chest cavity of another grunt. The adversary dropped and dissolved much like his other comrade, leaving the room silent for a moment. Eric calmly walked across the room and went to retrieve his knife when the ceiling above him collapsed. The last two grunts fell through and pinned down Eric, slowly choking the life out of him. Touch flew through the air and tackled one of them, giving Eric enough time to stab the one still on him. Eric went to stab the last one, but he found it running itself into walls repeatedly until it finally found a window and jumped out.  
  
"Guess you forgot how easy their minds were to take over, huh? I just lowered his IQ a bit and viola." Touch said, smiling slightly. Eric was impressed. he had first seen Touch as sort of a handicap, but the true usefulness of him was showing quite radiantly at the moment. The three of them sat down and gathered in the situation.  
  
"There isn't anyone else up here besides us," Touch said, gathering his breath. Eric didn't respond. though he had been so into the fighting, his attitude turned much darker when they had taken a break. "This is more then revenge, isn't it?"  
  
Eric had a look of hatred on his face, but he spoke with a tone that was cold and yet soft at the same time. "Oderint dum metuant."  
  
Touch dusted himself off and looked at the door to Shaw's office. His mind told him the words that Eric had spoke. "Let them hate me provided they fear me."  
  
Eric stood up and walked beside Touch. "Let's do this."  
  
They're feet connected with the door at the same time, knocking it clear off it's hinges and falling with a large thud that can only come from oak doors slamming into the floor. Before them stood Shaw and Emma, adorned in their usual clothing, though Shaw had already taken the liberty of storing some kinetic energy - his muscles were clearly visible through his normally loose shirt.  
  
Touch and Eric both dove at Shaw at the same time, but a psionic blast from Emma dropped Touch onto the ground in mid air. Eric spun his leg around and slammed it into Shaw's head, but by the time he went to help Touch, his partner's body lay limp on the ground, unmoving despite the noise, despite the danger they were in. Emma lifted her arm to blast Eric as well, but Shaw held up a hand.  
  
"He's mine. There shall be a punishment for those who betray the Hellfire Club."  
  
Emma smiled and walked backwards towards the edge of the room, taking Touch with her and keeping her fingers on his temples to keep him unconscious. Eric looked over at his fallen friend, and then quickly snapped his focus back to Shaw. Despite a solid kick to the head, Shaw wasn't fazed at all. In fact, his posture had grown more powerful and his body seemed to tower over Eric, though Shaw was only slightly taller.  
  
Eric unleashed a flurry of hits at Shaw, all powerfully crashing into his body, the final blow being a kick to the stomach. His opponent got up as if he hadn't been touched at all, and ran at Eric, throwing a punch at him that sent him flying against the wall. Eric could feel his ribs crack underneath the hit, and his knee slide out of the socket as his body landed in a crumpled mass on the floor. Eric slowly tried pulling his body up, using the wall as a crutch before helplessly falling over again. Shaw calmly walked over to him and wrapped a single hand around Eric's neck.  
  
"Now the problem here is, we need Touch alive. Fortunately, all we need from you is your DNA." Shaw smirked and pulled back his free hand, clenching it into a fist. "You don't get such a luxury."  
  
Lacking the strength to even keep his eyes open, Eric felt himself slipping away as his ability to breath became more impaired, and his fate clearly wrapped up. He would never let himself die like a coward though, and opened his eyes to receive his fate. His eyes opened just in time to see Shaw's face tighten up in fear, feel his group loosen, and finally watch as both of their bodies dropped to the ground. Emma walked up to the pair casually and put her fingertips on Shaw's forehead, sedating him heavily. She took Eric's arm and carefully wrapped it behind her neck, carrying him over to a couch.  
  
Emma sat herself down on the couch and looked over at Eric. Her eyes had an unnaturally shinning brown hue. Her eyelids closed over the sparkling brown sphere and her body slumped down on the side of the couch as Touch's body twitched with life and nonchalantly stood up, sitting on the other side of Eric.  
  
Touch smiled. "Need an explanation?"  
  
Eric simply shook his head. "Let's get out of here." 


	11. The Return

X-Men aren't mine  
  
----------------  
  
It was early in the morning, but that didn't mean the mansion was bustling with activity. Lately the gym and danger room were both getting more use then usual. All of the members of the X-Tremes had thoughts that they needed to work out. Almost everyone had done a training session this morning and was eating breakfast, witht he exception of Jack. He found himself in the gym, working on the benchpress. His sword glistened on the ground next to him; he felt uncomfortable going anywhere without it.  
  
It'd been two weeks since Touch disappeared, but it'd seemed like an eternity, even to Jack. Especially to Jack. It had been his fault that Touch had ran away, and though the rest of the team acted like they understood the situation, he was sure that they still held a resentment towards him. And there was always something that reminded him of Touch, every minute of every day. Even Dinah could bring up other conversation, but Jack always had some thought clogging his consciousness, even moreso when he was on his own. Today wasn't any different.  
  
Pip had been in here earlier, doing his own exercises and spotting Jack whenever it was necessary, but the desire to eat overcame him. He hated to leave Jack alone... Jack always seemed to be troubled when he was alone, and he hated letting anyone endanger themself by doing the bench without a spotter. However, Jack urged him off to breakfast, so he took off (pausing for a few moments to hold Jack in place while he took some weights off; just in case) and left Jack to do his workout. It wasn't working alone that made Jack worried though - it was being alone itself.  
  
He finished his reps and walked over to the pull up bar when something amazing happened to him. It'd seemed like an eternity since it last happened, but it was certainly happening.  
  
The thought of Touch ceased.  
  
Now, Jack couldn't do anything but think of Touch and how the feeling of him pounding in his brain disappeared, but these thoughts were all his. He swept up his sword and bolted out of the gym.  
  
***  
  
Liz and Dinah wanted to go for a walk before the sun got too high, so Dinah and Rebecca were left to take care of the mess from the morning's meal themselves. Rebecca was just finishing washing a dish and handed it to Pip as Jack burst through the door.  
  
"I think he's back!" Jack exclaimed, completely catching the two of them offguard. Pip barely caught the plate before it hit the ground, and Rebecca continued to stare back at Jack.  
  
"Wh.. how do you know?" she stammered. She was already tossing the dishtowel to the side and heading towards the door. Pip snatched up the plate and went right after her. Jack ran towards the professor's office. It had to be; he was so certain.  
  
They didn't even have time to get half way to the office before Professor X met them half way down the hallway.  
  
"Professor, we-" they all began talking at once, but were quickly hushed by the professor.  
  
"I have a psychic link with all of you, and even if I didn't, you're making enough noise to let every telepath in New York in on what's happening," the professor said with a smile. He headed for the front door, and the rest followed closeby.  
  
"I did a few scans, but I wasn't able to picking anything up... then again, Touch has always been a difficult one to find," Xavier began, gathering his thoughts as he spoke. "However, I do believe that when Touch lept inside of Jack before he left, he left a trace of himself behind. The only way for that to be reversed is for Touch to essentially absorb it back." Jack smiled as the professor confirmed what he thought. As they opened the front door, Dinah came rushing at them.  
  
"Liz thinks that she smells Tou-" she began, before she was interupted with the excited chatter of her three team mates. They all followed her back into the woods to find Liz again, with Xavier massaging his temples.  
  
"So headstrong," he thought to himself... though, he remembered, they all were at this age.  
  
"Can't disagree with that," a voice calmly said, taking a step out of the shadows.  
  
Xavier quickly snapped a round and readied a psychic blast when the light from the sun glistened off of the leather trenchcoat.  
  
"Could you be a bit more considerate in coming back home!" the professor exclaimed. Touch smiled - he always enjoyed getting a startled reaction out of Professor X. The world's most powerful psychic, and he was able to sneak up on him. Xavier was delighted to see that Touch was safe, though slightly disturbed - Touch had always been able to slip past his scans; but this was the first time Xavier had his mind read without his knowledge. He dismissed the thought for the moment, however, and began to talk to Touch about what happened to the boy over the past few weeks.  
  
***  
  
It was now two weeks later after his return. Besides to the professor, Touch said nothing of his exploits to the other team members. Jack quickly went back to resenting Touch, though they now respected each other... most of the time. Touch spent most of his time alone still, but Dinah would still take him out and sit by the pond, and that's what they did today. He spent most of his time listening to her; she was a constant, a source of comfort, though she was still a resource to him - he lacked the belief that he would be capable of seeing few people in a way more then that.  
  
It was later than they usually let it get, and darkness filled the sky. A tiny stick of dynamite stuck out in the night as they walked back to the mansion to lead the way back.  
  
They reached the door and Touch began to walk back outside for another walk by himself, but Dinah grabbed his wrist.  
  
"I know you don't see me as a friend, but I am. You can always come to me." Touch stared back at her and nodded, feeling her grip go limp against his arm. She walked inside and closed the door, leaning against it and holding her head. A voice suddenly spoke in her mind. It was so quiet that she barely heard it, but it was certainly spoken.  
  
"Thank you." 


End file.
